Help! My Overprotective S-Rank Master Who Loves Me Too Much Won't Let Me Go on Quests! - Chapter 14: Let\\\'s Watch Aria\\\'s Battle!

Episode 14: Let’s Watch Aria’s Battle!

“…Haah”

“…Huh?”

Immediately after shouting Aria-san’s name out of concern, Aria-san was… floating in the air.
Not metaphorically, but quite literally floating up in the air, evading the large tree root that emerged from her feet.

“To float using wind magic in a tournament where magical tools aren’t allowed… quite impressive.”

I couldn’t see her expression or if her mouth was open from the spectator stands, but the fact that Steridone-san stopped moving meant that she was at least surprised by Aria-san’s aerial maneuver.

However, Aria-san, while floating in the air, lifted her face upwards and looked at the sky.

“Ugh, this is the worst, I messed up…”

“To avoid my attack is already honorable, yet you express it as ‘the worst’… how annoying.”

“Even with such a large crowd, I can still hear only Adin-kun’s voice… the voice that worries about me, the expression of worry. To me, it was a playful attack, but even so, to worry Adin-kun so much…”

“Aria Feruste, have you been thinking about someone other than me even at this very moment when facing me?”

“What are you saying? I’ve always been like this, a year ago… no, even earlier, I’ve only been thinking about Adin-kun… So, as Adin-kun’s mentor, I can’t show any weaknesses in front of him… that’s why.”

As Aria-san turned her face towards Steridone-san, the next moment, substances formed of fire, water, lightning, and earth magic appeared around her, each in different directions.

In response, Steridone-san also surrounded herself with substances of the same attributes… and they clashed with their respective elements.

“But…!”

However, Steridone-san’s fire, lightning, and earth elements were quickly overwhelmed by Aria-san’s magic, and she was slightly injured… Then, they clashed with water magic.
Unlike before, this water magic didn’t lead to an immediate conclusion.

“I’ve been thinking since you used that trick earlier, but you’re good at water magic, aren’t you?”

“Gh… I can’t afford to lose with water magic…”

“…It’s been a while since I’ve faced someone who could challenge me… So, as a special exception, let’s call it a draw with water magic.”

It seemed like a close match, but suddenly, large tree roots emerged from Steridone-san’s feet, sweeping her away as if mowing her down.

The next moment, the announcer loudly declared:

“The first match is over! The winner is Aria Feruste!!”

“Wow!!”

The audience erupted into cheers… It was truly a high-level battle from the very first match.
…As I reflected on the match by myself, Aria-san, who was floating in the air earlier, flew straight towards me.

“Aria-san, well done.”

“I’m not tired at all! Anyway, sorry for worrying you?”

“No, I worried by myself, so…”

“To be worried by Adin-kun… When I think about it, I’m really lucky, aren’t I? But this contradiction of not wanting to worry you too… Is there no solution…?”

Seeing Aria-san, who was flustered as if she were a completely different person from when she fought Steridone-san, I realized that I liked both sides of Aria-san… That’s right.

“Sorry, It’s gonna be my match after this next round, so I’ll head there now.”

“Okay! Shall I escort you so you won’t get lost?”

“I won’t get lost!”

With that declaration, I moved from the spectator stands to the competitors’ waiting room.

“Finally, my first real battle is about to begin!”

Even though I’m thought to be unable to defeat even a slime by Aria-san’s standards, I might not be able to do anything big, but I’ll do my best to win!

With that determination in my heart, I entered the arena as soon as my turn arrived.